Wallaby on walkabout wanders onto Wilcot towpath

Updated 11:33am Wednesday 9th July 2014 in
By Anna Mauremootoo, Senior reporter for Marlborough and Pewsey

A wallaby similar to the one which is on the loose in Marlborough

Marlborough's missing wallaby was spotted at 7.30am today by Jane East, 46, while she was drinking coffee on the back deck of her canal boat.

It apparently escaped from a paddock near Marlborough on Wednesday night and has been on the run ever since.

Ms East, who spent a year in Australia in 1993, saw the wallaby on the towpath between Wilcot and Bridge Water while having breakfast.

She said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. I knew what it was because I’d spent time in Australia so I know it wasn’t a kangaroo.

“I went to put my dog inside and came back out to take a photo and then it was gone.

“I came into work and asked ‘is there supposed to be wallabies in this part of the country’?”

The runaway wallaby had last been seen bounding towards Pewsey on Friday when James Laughton, 55, of Granham Hill, was walking his Thai golden retriever Captain and two Springer spaniels near the old railway line south of the A345.

Mr Laughton said: “We all saw it 100 metres away. I thought, this is a damn clever deer walking on its back legs.

“And then I realised what it was. By that time, Captain had pulled away, he’s a strong dog. He got through the fence into the field and gave chase. It was surprisingly fast.